Rural chambers combine forces

Elaine Barkdull is convinced that small town chambers of commerce in Nevada no longer can be represented by the three P's parades, picnics and pancake breakfasts.

She's so convinced, in fact, that she's spearheading a new organization to make sure that small-town chambers and the businesspeople they represent get a fair hearing in Nevada.

The executive director of the Elko Chamber of Commerce, Barkdull also serves as founder of the newly formed Rural Nevada Associated Chambers.

About 26 chambers of commerce from everywhere but the metropolitan areas Reno/Sparks, Carson City and Las Vegas are invited to the group's first meeting in Elko later month.

While much of the two-day session will be devoted to setting the direction for the organization, Barkdull said it's clear that the role of chambers of commerce in rural Nevada is changing.

"We're no longer your goodwill ambassadors," she said.

"We are business organizations that represent business people.

Period."

The organization of Rural Nevada Associated Chambers comes, she said, at a time when tough economics mean that small-town chambers increasingly find themselves as economic development groups.

That's seen in the variety of challenges faced by the state's small towns.

Border towns with their traditional reliance on gaming have seen new competition in neighboring states.

Central Nevada towns have experienced a slow decline of mining and look to remake their economies with tourism.

Towns along the Interstate 80 corridor are preparing for growth.

"We all have different needs, but we're all from smaller towns that may not get the attention of the state," Barkdull said.

"We're all about keeping our towns alive."